What do Americans eat? Great shopping tour

What do hypermarkets look like in America? What kind of foods are there, what three hundred million people eat? To do this, we go on an excursion to the most popular store in America - Volmart.

When I wrote about my grocery cart that I buy in the United States for a week, many Russian emigrants who settled in the country tried to shame me: What do you go to Walmart? This is a shop for the homeless! That would go to Whole foods! It was funny to read those comments. Some stereotypes about Volmart exist here, as we have about Auchan, but all Americans do it. It’s convenient to buy immediately for a week, besides, the products are usually the same everywhere, but cheaper in hypermarkets. From the point of view of the experiment, this network suited perfectly: you can go to the ABC of Taste in Moscow, but this will not be a typical Russian supermarket. So, from that we proceed: Volmart in America is like Auchan (or Okay) in Russia.

Immediately from the entrance begins the fruit and vegetable section. I like that the products here sometimes try to beautifully lay out. Where possible. An important difference from our stores: fruits do not need to be weighed here, the cashier will do this on his own.

I’m not going to write down the prices today, you can figure it out yourself if you want. The fruits look beautiful, but not because they are unnatural, but they were simply laid out neatly for you and removed frank rot, which no one will take, and it spoils the look. Watermelons in America all year round, and their own: there are southern states where they can be grown all year long.

The same goes for the rest of the fruits, vegetables, and berries. Cherry and raspberries in December in the climate of the middle zone - a dream! You can always buy a special kit, where everything will already be cleaned, cut: know only throw in your mouth! Why not? The person who first guessed to peel an orange, cut a watermelon and sell it ready-made is probably a multi-billionaire.

Deli shop. It sells parmesans and jamon, but there was such a line that did not approach.

And here are four different display cases with meat products. A whole huge stand with bacon, separate with ham for breakfast, sausages and all kinds of semi-finished meat products like chevapchichi, hamburger patties and so on ...

Evil tongues say that Volmart is a store that does not specialize in food. Well, there are ten rows of such refrigerators. And each one sells one thing. The choice is huge. All these racks, about twenty compartments, are ice cream. Yes, there are hundreds of its species, honestly, honestly!

Next comes the same long fridge full of frozen pizzas of all kinds.

And the assortment doesn't end on pizza. Chicken wings, ready meals, all kinds of pies. Demand creates supply, and competition creates even more product options. Not particularly a fan of such a prepared meal: it is tasty, but certainly harmful. I only buy pizza and sometimes nuggets myself.

If we talk about sauces, there are also a million options. Americans love all kinds of pickles, and even made a popular appetizer of pickles in the form of sauce. He took squeezed out pickles on a piece of meat.

Meat. Pork chops, ribeye steaks and minced meat. From the unusual: here it is sold, including in the form of sausage.

Well, boiled pork, hams and similar delicacies. Somewhere by weight, and the packaged one can be taken right away. Whole hams are also popular, they are just in time for the holiday table and are bought. On Thanksgiving - a turkey, on Christmas - a pig.

Large selection of seasonings. This is about one tenth, just two small shelves hit. Seasonings are divided into two categories: for amateurs in the kitchen and for the pros. In the first case, they write on the packaging for which specific dish the bag is intended.

Canned meat and vegetables.

A whole long rack of breakfast cereals, cereals, pillows and the like. This is a fan of Americans of all ages.

Chips. I stopped eating them a long time ago, but the packaging seduces, of course. Chips here are never eaten in the dryer, always with some kind of sauce (dip), which are also great.

I can’t refuse this in any way ... .beef jerky. All men in America love to feast on these dried pieces of beef. But a little expensive ... ten bucks for a large pack, which still flies into the stomach :)

Cheese counters. Cheese of different types must be packed. To wrappers, as you already understood, Americans are scrupulous. The manufacturer must be recognizable visually and visible from afar. Well, the four most basic types of cheese: ordinary, sliced (there are cheese bars), grated, cheese sticks, Mexican fresh cheese, similar to our Adyghe ...

Yoghurts. Almost everyone says that they are low in fat.

Philadelphia cheese. Bagels were placed next to them - such round buns with a hole in the middle, but not bagels. And these bagels with soft cheese are the real tomorrow's pleasure, I tell you!

Bread is also a huge shelf, although, as for me, it is more diverse here. In fact, loaves of different manufacturers are simply laid out here: here it is mostly all white. There is rye, but it does not reach Russian black or Borodino. And Mexican tortillas are also popular.

Milk is sold in huge bottles. Because there is a different system of measures: not liters, but gallons. Thanks to falling US oil prices, gasoline is now cheaper than milk.

The eggs. Nothing to add here.

All kinds of soda and other harmful drinks. Upstairs are portable refrigerators. In the heat is very important.

Beer shelves. Beer is the only alcohol that can be bought in Volmart and in any store in general, except for special alcohol. I will not say for all the states, but in Virginia it is. There is a lot of beer. The Americans are the second beer nation I respect. Including because they took the best from the main brewers of the planet - the Belgians. Probably nowhere else, except in these countries, you will not find such a variety of types of beer. And again, love the Czech Pilsner? Here is Czech. Do you like English ales? Health, drink! For special perverts, they also sell Baltika in Russian stores.

You can walk endlessly along the food rows, but I am finishing, otherwise this post will be stretched for ever and ever. In Volmarty they sell a bunch of everything.

Before the winter holidays, many come to Wollmart also for gift cards. The fact that in Russia for some reason did not take root in the States is almost the main gift for friends, but not very close. Each chain of restaurants and shops has its own cards. Do you know that your friend likes going to Outback steakhouses? Give him a $ 25 card. This is enough for him to take his wife to a restaurant, just this amount usually costs dinner for two. There are prepaid bank cards. You don’t know what to give, but cash in an envelope is indecent? Give a Visa or Mastercard, a person will decide what to buy.

This is where we end with Volmart. A normal store, isn't it? Gentlemen snobs, calm down and go at least once, it’s not so scary there :)

Yes, I forgot to tell: in Volmart, at the entrance to each store, there is a series of electric carts that anyone can take. They are intended for the elderly and disabled, but I repeat that anyone can take it. Help will not be required from you.

In America, there are a lot of different stores, in addition to hypermarkets. All of them are grouped, as a rule, in such "plazas", small one-story shopping centers with large parking lots and separate entrances.